Dominguez-Escalante NCA Advisory Council to Meet

Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council to Meet

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council will meet on Feb. 22 from 3-6 p.m. in Grand Junction to discuss implementation priorities for the Approved Resource Management Plan.

The council provides guidance to the Bureau of Land Managment about managing the 210,000 acre Dominguez-Escalante NCA. Its meetings are open to the public and include public comment opportunities. This meeting will be held at the Mesa County Central Services Building, Room 40, 200 S. Spruce Street, Grand Junction.

The BLM recently signed the approved plan for managing the Dominquez-Escalante on Jan. 9. The plan provides long-term management goals for the area’s cultural and historic sites along with ecologic, geologic and paleontologic resources. Located in Delta, Montrose and Mesa counties south of Grand Junction, Dominguez-Escalante provides hiking, horseback riding and wilderness recreation opportunities. Approximately 137,000 recreational visitors contribute $2.1 million in labor income to the surrounding communities annually.

Dominguez-Escalante NCA was designated by the 2009 Omnibus Public Lands Management Act and is part of the BLM’s National Conservation Lands. The area is known for its breathtaking beauty, characterized by red-rock canyons and sandstone bluffs. Within the boundary of the NCA, the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness provides outstanding hiking and exploring opportunities. It includes scenic canyons and mesas carved in sandstone, and features two cascading streams, waterfalls, spectacular geologic features, ecological diversity, and archaeological and paleontological sites. The wilderness is home to desert bighorn sheep as well as rock art and historic remnants of the area’s ranching roots.